Nightmares: A BA rewrite
by SCWLC
Summary: I answered a challenge to rewrite Nightmares with Angel in the episode.


Title: Nightmares: A B/A Rewrite  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even the vestiges of an idea.  
Rating: If you can watch the show you can watch this.  
Summary: It's one of the ways Nightmares could have turned out if the writers had decided to involve Angel.  
Notes: This is in response to a challenge posted so long ago I can't remember where it was. I think it was posted sometime around the end of S2. Anyway, I'm not to good at covering extended periods of time, and I find it moves a bit quickly. Unfortunately, if I hadn't finished this now it never would have been finished. The story would have sat there mocking me. It's also completely unedited. I'm not going to fix any errors anyone finds. I don't care anymore.  
Notes 2: Yes I know half of what I write is behind the times! I like denial fiction. So sue me. Or rather, please don't, I have no money.  
Spoilers: Nightmares  
  
*************************  
  
Buffy and her new friend had been wandering about the cemetery trying to get out when Billy pointed out an as yet unfilled grave remarking that someone must have died.  
  
"Nobody died." said an arrogant voice from behind them. Buffy and Billy turned to look at the speaker. "What's the fun of burying someone if they're already dead?" asked the vampire Buffy knew instinctively to be the Master.  
  
"You!" she began, but he interrupted.  
  
"So! This is the Slayer," he said with an amused smirk, "You're prettier than the last one."  
  
She began to panic, "This isn't real. Y-you can't be free!" It wasn't possible. The Master was trapped in the Hellmouth.  
  
"You still don't understand, do you? I am free because you fear it." he was gloating and enjoying every second of it. "Because you fear it, the world is crumbling. Your nightmares are made flesh. You have little Billy to thank for that." Buffy risked a glance behind her for the boy but he was gone.  
  
"This is a dream." she was almost pleading as she said the words.  
  
The Master smiled at her condescendingly, "A dream is a wish your heart makes." he quoted as he grabbed Buffy by the neck choking her, "This is real life." He swung her around. "Come on, Slayer! What are you afraid of?" his grin widened and suddenly Buffy was falling. She hit the bottom of the casket and was helpless as the top swung closed over her. She was trapped. "How about being buried alive?" he asked. The vampire began to shovel dirt onto the coffin as Buffy desperately screamed for help.  
  
No one heard but the monster laughing maniacally as he shovelled dirt over her grave.  
  
*************************  
  
Giles, Xander and Willow, having spotted the cemetery across the street, headed through the rift in search of their friend.  
  
"Whose nightmare is this?" Xander asked as they made their way through the headstones. They paused for a moment, then Giles noticed the headstone that read: Buffy Summers 1981-1997  
  
The watcher felt a wave of grief as he said, "It's mine." They gathered around the grave and Giles knelt beside it. "I've failed... in my duty to protect you. I should have been more cautious. Taken more time to train you. But you were so gifted. And the evil was so great. I'm sorry..." As he spoke he placed his hand on the fresh soil. When he gathered himself to get up a hand suddenly broke through the dirt and grabbed his. Dimly he heard Willow scream as he scrambled away pulling the body up with him. The girl stood in front of him brushing dirt off of her clothing.  
  
"Buffy?" Giles hesitantly asked. She looked up in response to her name.   
  
Raised ridges had sprung up all over her forehead, her eyes had changed from hazel to a glowing yellow, her skin was ashen and fangs could be seen as she spoke, "I thought I was dead!" The words shook the others out of their stupor.  
  
Willow was the first to speak, "Buffy, your face!"   
  
Buffy reached up and ran her hands over the bumps covering her face and realised what had happened. "Oh, God!" she cried, putting her hands up to hide herself from her friends. Xander took a couple steps towards her, saying her name. Buffy flinched and turned away her voice anguished, "Don't look at me!"  
  
"You never told me you dreamt of becoming a vampire." Giles spoke softly.  
  
"This isn't a dream." Buffy's voice was harsh and despairing.  
  
"No. No, it's not . . . "   
  
Buffy broke in, "And now I'm a vampire! It's not going to go away when I wake up, and-- and --" she took off sobbing into her hands. Her friends gazed after her for a moment, and then turned to look at each other with troubled eyes.  
  
**********************  
  
The sun had already set by the time Xander finally found Angel's apartment. He stood outside for a moment, gathered his courage and knocked on the door. Angel opened it a moment later. "Xander," said the vampire by way of greeting, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"We need your help Angel," Xander took a deep breath and asked, "Can I come in?"  
  
"Sure," Angel stood back and let the teenager walk in. As Angel shut the door behind him Xander looked around quickly surprised to see a nice, if dark, apartment. No coffins, blood, screaming victims, "No torture instruments, no bats," He realized Angel had noticed his perusal of the vampire's home and was voicing Xander's thoughts. "But somehow I don't think you came here to check up on my living conditions." Angel continued.  
  
"You're right I didn't. We need help to find Buffy, and, more importantly, she needs your help when she's found." Xander took a deep breath in preparation for the reaction he knew was going to get when Angel heard the news. "She's a vampire --"  
  
"WHAT!!" Angel promptly flipped out, smashed the nearest vase, then whirled around towards Xander, "Who did it? Who was it that killed her? I'll kill him. I'll kill him -- for her." just as abruptly the fight went out of the vampire and he collapsed onto the couch with a sob. "This has to be a bad dream." Angel said hoarsely.  
  
Xander sighed and continued from where he had been interrupted, unconsciously sounding like Giles, "No, no it's not. But there's a chance that we can make it go away. This all comes from Billy. Now, if, if we can only wake him up, Giles thinks that the nightmares will stop and reality will shift back into place, but we have to find Buffy before she does something drastic." At Angel's confused look Xander continued to explain, "You see, there's this kid in a coma, and somehow he's making everybody's nightmares come true, so --"  
  
"Buffy's a vampire, but she has a soul and is living her nightmare." Angel immediately felt better. Buffy wasn't some kind of monster like he had been, she could still be changed back and her life returned to her. "So you came to me because . . ." Angel left the phrase hanging.  
  
Xander stared at Angel for a moment stunned that the man could be so dense. "You're the only other souled vamp we know of, and like it or not Buffy has a big crush on you. I thought you might have an idea of where she would go."  
  
Angel was baffled, how would he know where Buffy would go? Then Xander was dragging him off in search of the girl they both loved.  
  
************************  
  
They finally tracked her down at Willy's bar. Most of the demons in town met there. It was neutral ground and they got served what was usually a nice bloody Caesar. Extra blood. Buffy was there getting wasted. By the time Angel and Xander got to her she was completely smashed and threatening Willy, who was desperately trying not to antagonize her.  
  
Angel gently touched Buffy's shoulder, "Buffy, " he began, but she cut him off.  
  
"Angel, how do you stand it? I'm so hungry, and it won't go away." she began to slur at him in a piteous tone. "Why did you go away? I wanted to see you so much, and you went away." Buffy waved her nearly empty glass of whiskey at her friend and her beloved vampire as she continued, "Can I move in with you? We're the same now and I don't wanna . . ." her voice broke off as she fell off her stool and passed out.  
  
Angel and Xander exchanged looks. Then Xander spoke, "I think we'd better get her to your place."  
  
"Why?" asked Angel extremely curious as to why anyone would think that was a good idea. "Someone has to comfort her and keep her from bingeing on blood, and -- oh." he said as he realised that those things were the things he was best suited for. "Okay."  
  
****************************  
  
Angel carried Buffy back to his place and tucked her into bed. He turned to Xander and asked "So now what? I don't want to head out anywhere while Buffy's like this, but you guys have to find this kid."  
  
Xander sighed, "I'll go talk to Giles and see if he's found anything out. You stay here and keep her safe." Xander took a deep breath then continued, "She won't listen to us, and so far, she's the only one who's seen or had any contact with Billy. We need her to help track him down. She may, however, listen to you if you explain that we might be able to fix things."  
  
"Are you sure?" Angel inquired.  
  
"If Giles says it can be reversed, it can be." Xander responded.  
  
Angel's mouth quirked up slightly at the corners, "That wasn't what I meant, though your confidence in Giles is heartening." Xander looked at Angel quizzically, as if to ask *What, then?*. "Do you really think she might trust me?"  
  
Xander rolled his eyes at the vampire and replied, "Angel, the only person around here who doesn't trust you besides you, is me. Buffy, in my humble opinion, has fallen in love with the second worst person she could fall in love with." Xander's sarcasm and annoyance were not lost on the vampire, who cracked an honest to goodness smile.  
  
"Who's the worst? The Master?" Angel had to know who Xander would think was worse than himself for Buffy to fall in love with.  
  
"Nah. Buffy's too scared to fall in love with him. No, I was thinking of Michael Jackson." Xander's delivery was so deadpan Angel thought he was serious for a moment. Then the words got through, and Angel laughed. He was still smiling when he showed Xander out. His expression sobered instantly when he turned to look at Buffy however, and he hurried to her side knowing she would wake soon.   
  
He settled down next to her on the bed, and tried to keep from burying his face and hands in her hair. He wanted to touch her, smell her, take in the essence of this girl who had so firmly worked her way into his heart, and had taken up residence there. Despite Xander's words he was certain that she felt nothing stronger than a crush for him, and was grateful for that. Suddenly, he noticed that his hand had crept into her hair, and was stroking her silky head. More important, Buffy was awake.  
  
She looked up at him and Angel saw that her face was still twisted by the nightmare demon that had taken her body. Angel slowly withdrew his hand and asked, "How do you feel?"  
  
"I . . . I . . . I don't know. I feel weird. I just . . . I mean, I . . ." she trailed off looking indecisive. She appeared so young, so lost, that Angel couldn't stop himself from leaning forward and pulling her against him. She sighed, and snuggled further into his arms the instant they were around her. "Angel?"  
  
"Yeah?" he looked down at her, feeling the parts of him that were the demon stir. It was fascinated, and now that it knew that no one had brought her across, per se, it was urging him to treat her as if he had sired her. Angel squelched it down to pay attention to what Buffy was saying.  
  
"How do you stand it? Being hungry like this all the time?" she snuggled even closer, and Angel tightened his arms briefly in reassurance. "It's just that I . . ." Buffy trailed off and Angel suddenly had an idea of what was bothering her.  
  
"You haven't fed at all, have you?" Angel didn't need to ask in fact, because fledglings were usually, though not always, incapable of controlling their faces until they'd fed. The only thing that had kept Buffy from attacking anyone had probably been sheer force of will. The way she glanced away from him was answer enough however, and Angel reluctantly began to disentangle himself from Buffy despite her reproachful looks. "You need to have something."  
  
"I ate some wings at Willy's."   
  
Angel gave her a look, and headed over to the fridge. "You need blood," he stated firmly.  
  
"Angel, I don't think I--" she trailed off, unsure of how to explain her objections to him.  
  
"Buffy, you won't be able to shift back to your human face if you don't." He looked at her, worried. She shook her head and pressed her lips together.  
  
"I'm not going to drink blood. I mean, the hospital needs blood for transfusions, and I'm not going to kill anything or drink rat blood." her face was determined, and she glared at him defiantly.  
  
Angel sighed, "It's not human blood, I'm not going to make you kill anything either," he said deciding now was not the time to mention that what she said indicated that she thought of rats as non-living creatures. "The blood is from the butcher's."  
  
Buffy's face promptly screwed up and in spite of the vampiric features, her wrinkled nose was adorable. Angel forced himself to ignore that fact that his demon half was even more enchanted than ever by her newly created demon. Then Buffy spoke, "Ick! I-- eww!" Angel controlled the wave of amusement and attraction that surged through him at her complaints, urging him to tell her how much he cared, and focussed on his worries.  
  
"Buffy, you have to feed. You'll starve if you don't!" He was sincerely worried about her. If she didn't feed she would shrivel away. It was one of the most painful experiences a vampire could suffer. He knew. He had frequently lived in agony since his soul had been returned. It was only recently that he had once again pulled himself together. "I don't want to see you in pain. Please Buffy." Angel knelt next to her and took her hands in his own, pleading with her to accept.  
  
Her eyes slid away from his and down to the floor, and he stood up and made his way to the fridge. He took out a pitcher of cow's blood, poured it into a mug, and put it in the microwave to heat up. When he finished he carried it to her, silently willing her to drink it.  
  
*******************  
  
Buffy suspiciously eyed the mug in Angel's hands. She didn't want to drink the liquid, but she couldn't deny that the scent was tempting. Slowly, she stretched out a hand to grasp the mug. Looking up for an instant, she saw Angel's concerned face hovering over her own, and it decided her. Taking a deep unneeded breath, Buffy put the mug to her lips and sipped.  
  
The next thing she knew, she was swallowing, eager to get the last of the thick warm liquid down her throat. It tasted wonderful and Buffy couldn't get enough. Abruptly the blood was gone, and Buffy hear herself whimper in protest. Angel reached out to take the cup away from Buffy and their hands brushed against each other. They both froze and Buffy found herself suppressing the urge to reach out to Angel and kiss him until they both collapsed from exhaustion. She didn't know how long she stood there, frozen, until Angel pulled the mug out of her now lax grasp. When he came back he asked her, "Feel better?" his mouth gave that sexy corner quirk then he continued, "Or at least less hungry?"  
  
She smiled back, "Yeah," she felt her forehead and face which hadn't changed back the way Angel said they would. "But my face isn't better." Buffy felt like crying again as she remembered how hideous she looked.  
  
Angel gave her a sympathetic look and said, "You need to calm down love."  
  
"Calm down!? I've been changed into a vampire and I'm supposed to calm down!" Buffy looked at Angel, furious that he could suggest anything so stupid. "Angel, that's the most idiotic thing I ever heard!"   
  
Buffy got even more furious when Angel's mouth turned up at the corner in the smile that just moments before she had thought was so sexy. Thinking that he was mocking her she got up and stomped across the room toward the door, aware as she did so that Angel had gotten up and followed her.  
  
"Where are you going?" he demanded as she grabbed the door handle, "It's the middle of the day. You don't know your way around the sewers and you can't know what'll happen if a real vampire sees you!" he looked terrified, but it barely registered in Buffy's head as she yanked open the door. Angel grabbed her, swung her around and away from the doorway, almost knocking her off her feet.  
  
"Let go!" Buffy pulled away, "At least they won't laugh at me 'cause I can't," her voice changed into a mocking whine, "'calm down'."  
  
Suddenly Angel backed off, and Buffy looked and saw the look on his face. He seemed so sad Buffy almost rushed to hold him before she reminded herself she was angry at him. "Is that what you think?" he asked, "that I was laughing at you?"  
  
"Weren't you? I tell you that it's stupid to expect me to calm down, and then you... you smirked at me." Buffy knew it sounded stupid as she said it, and Angel's suddenly understanding look didn't help her righteous indignation.  
  
Angel sighed and said, "I meant that you have to be calm for your face to shift back to normal. I didn't mean that it was easy or that I expected you to be calm. As to when I smiled it's just that you were so..." he trailed off and stared at Buffy appearing to be almost... well, embarrassed. It was cute.  
  
"So what?" she inquired.  
  
"Nothing. Nevermind." he started to back away, and Buffy grabbed his arm and swung him around.  
  
"What did I look like?" she demanded.  
  
Angel paused, then slowly spoke, "You looked ... beautiful." he said.  
  
"Beautiful?" she asked softly, "You thought I looked beautiful?" Buffy was stunned. Suddenly something else came to mind. "When I said my face wasn't better, what exactly did you say?"  
  
Angel just stood there blinking for a moment, then said, "I told you that you had to calm down." he cocked his head at her, "But we just discussed that."  
  
"No, you said, 'You have to calm down love.'" Buffy looked up at him and saw the startlement on his face. "Did you mean it?"  
  
**************************  
  
Angel was stunned, to say the least, at the sudden turn of events. One moment Buffy was angry with him and off to get herself killed rather than be in the same room as him, and now she was standing inches away from him, and staring up into his face asking him if he had meant it when he had called her 'love', with those big hazel eyes in her beautiful face, and ... "Your face is back to normal, " he said, feeling like a cretin for avoiding the question. He did love her, but he didn't want her to feel obligated to be with him. He was such a monster, and she still had a life ahead of her. One that didn't involve his presence.  
  
In the mean time, her face had broken into a wide and happy smile at his words. "That's better," she declared abruptly moving away from him, "What do you do around here during the day anyway?"  
  
"Uh, actually, normally, I sleep." Angel smiled again as she looked at him in disbelief, "I am normally awake all night you know."   
  
Buffy sighed, and then perked up. "Where's your phone? I wanna call Giles. See if he has some way of fixing me yet." She got up and began to prowl about looking for a telephone.  
  
"I don't have one." Those four words, and Angel saw Buffy looking at him as though he was from another planet. She stared for a couple seconds, then her mouth began to work, but not form words. Angel began to worry again. What if she was having some kind of fit due to a lack of really fresh blood or something? "Buffy, are you okay?"  
  
"No phone?" were the next words out of her mouth. "How do you, I don't... I mean... " she paused for a moment, pulling her thoughts together, "Why don't you have a phone?" she demanded.  
  
Angel stared at her for a moment, and then he just had to ask, "Why would I need one?" the look on her face made it quite clear that she couldn't understand how anyone could not need a telephone.  
  
"Well, 'cause how could you talk to people and stuff?"   
  
"Normally, I walk over to wherever whoever I want to talk to happens to be, as to the 'stuff' part, what stuff are we talking about?" Angel asked curiously. He was fascinated by her shock that anyone could not need a telephone.  
  
"You could, like, talk to Giles about demons and stuff during the day when you couldn't sleep, and get an Internet connection, and, I don't know, you need to have a phone. It's like one of those necessities of life, y'know, food, shelter, heat, water, and phones." Buffy looked up at him expectantly. Clearly waiting for him to admit his error.  
  
Angel was very amused and only long year of experience at hiding his emotions allowed him to keep a straight face. "Buffy, a telephone is not an essential to living, or, in my case, unliving, and what would I do with an internet connection?"  
  
"Surf the 'net. Get an e-mail pal to chat with, connect with people in Japan, find websites to teach you interesting stuff." She was really on a roll. "Besides, if I'm moving in with you you'll need a phone, 'cause I'm gonna have to talk to Willow, Xander, and Giles." Buffy then continued on, determinedly, "And you'll have to get a TV, 'cause it'll get really boring in here, and... "  
  
Angel broke in, feeling amazed at the speed at which Buffy's mind was moving. "Why would I want to talk to anyone in Japan? Not to mention that no one has said anything about you moving in with me." he said. Her eyes began to fill with tears and Angel abruptly began to worry about what he'd done now. It had been far too long since he'd had to deal with what Buffy undoubtedly would have called 'the whole dating scene'.  
  
"But, I thought . . . you don't want me here?" she asked looking vulnerable and childlike, "I mean, I can't stay at home anymore, and I don't know where I'd go. I'm a vampire now." Buffy had begun to cry as she spoke and Angel reached for her. She pulled away. "I guess it's 'cause I'm all hideous and icky."  
  
"What?!" Angel grabbed her, "Don't ever think that. Ever! You are beautiful and sweet and kind, and good. Never let anyone make you think otherwise."  
  
"Then what's the problem?"  
  
"Sweetheart, you can't move in with me--" Angel began, but she interrupted him.  
  
"Why not? We're both vampires with souls, I can't live with Mom like this, she'd freak. I can't live with Xander or Willow, 'cause their parents would freak, and there is no way I'm moving in with Giles. That leaves you." Buffy began to look incredibly self-conscious, "Unless you really don't want me here," she said softly.  
  
"Buffy, what you or I want has nothing to do with this. You have a life and--"  
  
"And I'm a vampire now! I'm not going to be able to go to school or anything." Buffy tried to make Angel understand.  
  
"Giles is certain he can find a way to fix this. You're not going to be a vampire forever. You don't want to make all these arrangements for something that mi-- won't happen." Angel didn't just want Buffy to stop rushing madly about making plans, he knew that another couple of wild notions from her and he'd be joining in.  
  
Buffy broke into his musings, "You were gonna say 'might'!" she accused.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You were going to say 'might not happen.' You're not sure Giles can fix me. You really don't want me here."  
  
He was about to grab a now crying Buffy, kiss her, and tell her how much he wanted her to stay with him and never leave, when someone started pounding on the door. Which let him turn his attention to something else entirely. He strode over and yanked open the door practically shouting, "What!"  
  
Willow stood in the doorway carrying a jar containing blood, a cell phone, and an overnight bag. "Um, hi. Did I interrupt something? You're mad, I interrupted, didn't I?" she stammered as she found herself abruptly facing a very irate Angel.  
  
Buffy's head poked around her not-boyfriend's body and she said, "Not really, what's up?" She hauled Angel back from the door and indicated Willow was to come in.   
  
Angel still looked rather angry but Willow braved his possible wrath and spoke, "Well, Giles hasn't figured out exactly what we're gonna do so he wanted me to tell you to stay put with Angel." She held out the items in her hands, "I got you the cell phone my Mom gave me so she could pretend that she was gonna check up on me, and some clothes and stuff. I mean 'cause you've been wearing those for like, a day and a half."   
  
She shyly handed over the bag and phone to her friend and then faced the demon before her. Or rather the vampire. Of course he didn't look like a vampire when he was being all human looking and stuff, and he didn't seem nearly as scary as when he'd opened the door. Actually, he looked kinda good looking... Okay gorgeous in a if-you-happen-to-have-eyes sorta way, and now she was babbling internally not just externally. She forced herself to focus, "Giles also said you might want to have some extra blood 'cause you weren't expecting company and so I got you some so here." She thrust the container at Angel and hurled herself across the room to hide in a corner with her friend and start whispering something about him with Buffy.   
  
Angel was left standing in the doorway with a jar of blood. So he closed the door and resolutely ignored the whispers coming from across the room.  
  
************************  
  
After Buffy had updated her friend on what she had missed, and Willow had done likewise, there was a pause, then the redhead began to speak again. "So," Willow's voice trailed off suggestively, and she glanced at Angel for emphasis.  
  
"So nothing," Buffy replied, "He doesn't want me here, and he thinks Giles can't fix me."  
  
Willow frowned at he friend in reproof. "Now you and I both know that's not true. I mean, he even asked Xander whether you liked him."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah." Willow's response had 'duh' written all over it. "Anyway, the other reason I'm here is because of Giles' plan to stop Billy's nightmares."  
  
"Buffy's eyes lit up with hope, "Really? Does he think he can change me back?"  
  
Willow smiled, "He thinks he can fix everything if we wake Billy Palmer up. So, we'll meet at the hospital after sunset, then try to wake him up."  
  
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Buffy glanced over at Angel who was studiously examining his refrigerator as though he'd never seen one before. "Do you really think he loves me?"  
  
Willow's eyes went wide at the question, and she squeaked, turning red when Angel glanced at her, and hissed, "Why don't you ask him? I can't answer that for you. What brought that on anyway?"  
  
Buffy chewed on her lip briefly then spoke, "Earlier, when I was freaking out, y'know? He said, quote 'You need to calm down love,' unquote."  
  
"No way." Amazement was etched on Willow's face. Suddenly, she leapt to her feet, hissed "Talk to him!" again, then, bolted out the door with a "byeangelitwasniceseeingyouagain." It happened so quickly that by the time Buffy reached the door to ask Willow what was up with her, and not to abandon her, the other girl was gone.  
  
****************************  
  
Angel blinked in surprise at the speed with which Willow had left and asked Buffy, "What did she say?"  
  
She shot him one of those 'deer in the headlights' looks that Willow was so good at. "Um, just now? 'Bye Angel it was nice seeing you again.'"  
  
"I meant, what did you two talk about," said Angel patiently.  
  
"Well, you know, this and that," Buffy hedged.  
  
Angel raised and eyebrow at her prevarication. "Did she say anything about how we're going to deal with the ... problem?"  
  
"Oh." Buffy looked unspeakably relieved, "She said we're supposed to meet the others at the hospital this evening, then we'll try to wake Billy up." She shrugged knowing it wasn't on of Giles' more impressive plans.  
  
Angel stepped forward, knowing Buffy was hiding something from him. He reached out and gently made her look him in the eye. "Everything will be fine Buffy. We'll fix this." He saw the flash of doubt on her face and reiterated, "We will fix this love."  
  
Buffy's eyes widened with the last word and asked, "So is it true? You love me?" Hope shone from her eyes.  
  
Angel began to stutter, "I uh ... That is ..." he trailed off, uncertain. He didn't want to pressure her, but she was all his dreams wrapped up in one small blonde package.  
  
As he stammered the hope died and Buffy began to retreat into herself. "I guess it's understandable. I mean, who would want to be with a freak like me," her voice was bitter.  
  
"Don't say that!" Angel pulled her against himself before he could think better of it, adding, "You are not a freak."  
  
The Slayer luxuriated in the feel of his arms for a moment before beginning to struggle away. She demanded, "How can you touch me when I'm like this?"  
  
"Because you love me." His words hung in the air as he silently pleaded with her not to deny them.  
  
"I do."  
  
Buoyed by the elation of the moment, Angel's lips met hers in a gentle kiss. When they parted, Buffy looked at him with sorrowfully, and asked, "Angel, what if Giles can't fix me? What if I'm a vampire forever?"  
  
"We will find a way to turn you back." To stop further questions he had no answers for, Angel lowered his head and kissed her again. Suddenly her arms were around his neck, and his were around her waist, and both were kissing as though they couldn't get enough of the other.   
  
It was Buffy who first pulled away gasping, "Angel, I ... I'm not ready to..." she didn't want to seem all immature, but she wasn't ready to go as far as she could tell he wanted.  
  
Angel backed off and smiled at her. "Whatever you want Buffy. I won't push you."  
  
Buffy took a deep breath and said, "Maybe we should back off. I mean, I don't want to, y'know, tease or anything."  
  
The look of adoration on Angel's face answered Buffy's unspoken questions. Then he leaned over and picked up the overnight bag Willow had gotten for her friend, and said, "Why don't you change. Then we could talk."  
  
"I'd like that." Buffy took the bag from him and vanished into the other room to change, and Angel willed his erection down.  
  
They spent the rest of the afternoon chatting amicably and discovering a shared secret love of Barry Manilow, and that they actually spent the same amount of money on clothes in the past year. "Oh! I adore Scott Hamilton. He's just so charismatic on the ice."  
  
"Really? I prefer the ice dancers myself. Did you ever see the Duchesnays? They were pure poetry on ice." Angel and Buffy shared smiles.  
  
"You are the perfect guy. I can talk to you about anything," Buffy declared with a happy smile.  
  
They both stopped as they felt the sun go down. The easy camaraderie between them changed to an expectant silence. They both knew they had to head out now. The pair stood and quickly exited the small apartment, heading for the hospital. They passed things both amusing and grotesque as they made their way to the building. It was when they reached the front doors Angel saw a group of vampires surrounding a crowd of people. He turned to Buffy, "Can you handle the stuff with Billy alright? I think I'm needed over there."  
  
Buffy saw what he was gesturing at, and moved to help, but angel just firmly jerked his head in the direction of the doors, and Buffy obeyed. After all, she noted as she hurried in, the crowd was made up of dozens of clones of the same woman. Someone's nightmare was happening, and the only real way for it to be stopped was to wake Billy up.  
  
She met up with the others in the ER, and they headed toward the ICU.   
  
************************  
  
Pandemonium reigned. They came running down the hall to Billy's room, seeing the doctor stand gazing into space by the door.  
  
"Doctor! Is the boy Billy still here?" Giles demanded. They were all shocked when the doctor turned, his eyes glazed with horror and grief, holding his malformed hands before him. "My hands!" he rasped, even as he turned to wander off, lost in his nightmare.  
  
"What now?" Xander's simple question quite flummoxed Giles, who really had no notion of what would wake the boy still lying unconscious on the hospital bed.  
  
"Um... " the watcher trailed off, then bent down in a move both comical and desperate, "Billy! Billy?"  
  
A soft voice, young and scared, spoke, "That won't work." They turned to see his astral body standing by the curtains. He looked so vulnerable, Buffy's heart went out to him.  
  
"Billy! Uh, Billy, you have to wake up," said Giles, trying to find a way to talk the boy into it.  
  
Billy shook his head in response, "No. I told her. I have to hide." His anxiety spread to the others.  
  
"Why? From what?" asked Giles. Buffy was the one who replied.  
  
"From him!"  
  
She gestured down the hall where she could see The Ugly Man storming down the hall smashing people out of his way. The others hurried over to look, the sight prompting Xander to exclaim, "Aw, man, what do we do?"  
  
A flash of insight struck the Slayer, "I think I know," she said. She took off her jacket. Walking to the door she heard a buzzing sound, and Willow saying nervously that whatever it was it had to be done soon. Then she was in the hall with the monster hobbling toward her.  
  
"Glad you showed up! You see, I'm having a really bad day." Buffy was in her element. Calm, poised, and relieved when Angel appeared, looking a little worse for wear after his battle, behind the beast.  
  
"Lucky nineteen!" wheezed the creature.  
  
Buffy's voice recalled Darla's words the night Angel killed his sire, "Scary! I'll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you." She and Angel, both vamped out, stepped forward, "And we're two of them."  
  
The Ugly Man stopped in his tracks and looked at her. She jumped on him, knocked him down and hit him twice in the face. He threw her off and stood, only to get hit by a roundhouse kick from Angel. His batlike arm swung around and smashed the vampire into the wall and he went after Buffy, who ducked the swing, and kicked him in the back. He slammed into her, knocking her through the door into Billy's room and against his bed. He came in after her, swinging, but then Angel was there, grabbing the bat arm and breaking it. The monster wailed in pain, and the pair slammed him into the wall, where he hit his head and slumped to the floor unconscious.   
  
Billy stood, frozen in place, as he asked, "I-is he dead?"  
  
The Slayer looked at him calmly and spoke, "Come here, Billy."  
  
"I, I don't..." the boy was trembling in terror. Fear of the monster that stalked him even now that it lay unconscious before him.  
  
"You have to do the rest."  
  
Billy slowly walked around the bed and over to the Ugly Man. The others whispered behind him, and Angel looked on supportively. Buffy took Billy's hand. He looked up at her. "No more hiding."  
  
He looked down at the Ugly Man. She let go of his hand, and he reached for the monster's face. He grabbed something and peeled it back. As he did so, a bright light streamed out. In the next instant everything was back to normal. Billy slowly began to surface.  
  
"Hey, he's waking up!" Xander's joyful exclamation brought everyone to Billy's bed.  
  
"I had the strangest dream. And you were in it, and you..." he seemed then to realise he was surrounded by strangers, "Who are you people?"  
  
They all smiled and Giles said, "Let's get a doctor." A man in a sweatsuit and baseball hat came in as Giles and Xander were leaving.  
  
"Oh! Huh. Billy's got company." The man smiled slightly, taking off his cap, "I-I-I'm his kiddie league coach. I come by here every day, just hoping against hope that he's gonna wake up soon. He's, uh, my lucky nineteen." his nervousness, and the phrase made something click in Buffy's head. "So, um, how is he?" the man finished.  
  
Buffy stepped aside letting him see the boy on the bed. "He's awake." Nothing in her tone indicated any compassion for the monster standing before her.  
  
"What?" He started to look terrified.  
  
Mercilessly Buffy continued, "You blamed him for losing the game. So you caught up with him afterwards, didn't you?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" the coach's attempt at innocence was a complete failure.  
  
Billy struggled into a more upright posture and glared at the man who had been tormenting him for days, "You said that it was my fault that we lost." Coach realized he'd been found out and tried to escape. He turned to the door, and tried to get through, but Xander got him by the lapels of his jacket, and slammed him into the door. "It wasn't my fault," Billy continued, "There's eight other players on the team. You know that." He lay back down, clearly tired from the effort.  
  
"Nice going." Buffy smiled at her young friend triumphantly. He smiled back.  
  
She looked around and noticed that Angel had crept off in the meantime. She was going to have to have a talk with that guy. He could be such a ... guy!  
  
**********************  
  
Angel was just hanging out when someone started pounding on his door. He was making his way there, when he heard Buffy shout through the wood, "Come on Angel! I know you're in there! We need to talk!" He was seriously contemplating not answering the door even as his hand turned the knob, and he found himself face to face with an irate slayer.  
  
"Buffy, what's up?" he asked softly.  
  
She just glared, "What's up? You have the gall to ask me that after that disappearing act you pulled?" She stood in the doorway, her foot tapping in irritation clearly waiting for a response.  
  
"I thought you would want to be with your friends," he replied. That statement prompted her to a shriek of fury, and she tackled him to the floor.  
  
"You are, at the very *least*, one of my friends!" she shouted at him as he lay under her, trying not to enjoy the view. He was failing miserably. "After all the time we spent talking and kissing yesterday you decide what? I'm going to let you get away with this?"  
  
Angel blinked at her, "Buffy, you are the Slayer. I am a vampire. There is never, going to be an us. We are never even going to be friends."  
  
He would have said more, but Buffy interrupted him, "Why not? You're not evil, and that's why I kill vampires. You're a good person, I like you, you like me, what's the problem?"  
  
"How about the fact that it's an affront to everything you are? That maybe you deserve a human guy?" Her logic was very tempting and Angel knew he had to head this off. "You're only sixteen years old Buffy, you should be with someone your own age."  
  
Buffy shrugged, "I don't see what so affronting about dating a vampire. Besides, you're pretty handy in a tight situation." She was leaning closer as she spoke, "And they do say that girls mature faster than boys."  
  
Her face was inches from his own, and he smiled at her as she pressed close, "They say that do they?"  
  
"Mmm-hmm," drawn together as though by gravity, they kissed. "So, any other objections?" she queried.  
  
Angel gave that little half smile and said in response, "None whatsoever."  
  
FIN  
  
1. Upon discovering Buffy's new state, Giles and co. try to help her out, but find they can't get through to her. Thus, Xander, of all people, goes to find "Dead Boy" because he is the only one who could really have practical advice.   
  
2. Remember, because this is in the innocent days of season one, and Buffy and Angel haven't been in a relationship yet - actually Buffy hasn't seen him since their kiss in the Bronze - sexual content should be kept to what both Angel and Buffy would reasonably feel comfortable doing at this stage.. there should definitely be some sort of um...intense comforting...involved though. *G*   
  
3. Buffy expresses concern over how Angel can still love her "like this". He responds with the line "because you love me" or something of the like.   
  
4. Just as in the show, they all remember their experiences after it is over..and Buffy makes a special visit to Angel's.   
  
Oh...and it takes some real convincing to make Buffy drink blood.   
  
Issued by Carrie 


End file.
